The present invention relates to an axle arrangement for a motor vehicle.
The following discussion of related art is provided to assist the reader in understanding the advantages of the invention, and is not to be construed as an admission that this related art is prior art to this invention.
Conventional wheel suspensions for motor vehicles include, i.a., attachment points to the vehicle body, bearings, at least one guide rod, suspension system, and wheel carrier secured to the guide rod. The guide rod can be designed as transverse control arm or semi-trailing arm. When a rigid axle is involved, springs in the form of leaf springs are oftentimes used. Rigid axles typically include rigid axle tubes which are linked to the wheel guiding longitudinal leaf springs via a fastening system, so called leaf spring attachments. The longitudinal leaf springs can be made of steel or composites such as GFRP (glass fiber reinforced plastic) or CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic). The leaf springs are coupled to the body.
The rigid axle member is positioned in relation to the leaf springs normally via a center bolt which snaps into a bore of the lower leaf spring attachment. The rigid axle includes an axle tube and the outer wheel carriers which are securely fixed to the axle tube, e.g. welded or bolted.
When installing the rigid axle in the motor vehicle or during operation of the motor vehicle, the wheels do not always assume the desired position. Manufacturer's based tolerances lead to situations in which the rigid axles are not positioned at an orthogonal angle relative to the vehicle longitudinal axis and thus are skewed in relation to the typically adjustable axles with independent wheel suspension, mostly front axles. As a result, the front axle has to be readjusted possibly in opposition to the skewed disposition of the rear axle to ensure a straight travel of the vehicle. The tires which are also positioned at a slant are exposed to greater wear. This may be encountered in all four tires of the vehicle. Incorrect wheel position, especially incorrect toe, also increases fuel consumption. In addition, incorrectly aligned wheels can only transmit slight lateral guide forces and compromise safety in an extreme case. In particular the rear axle demands greater safety considerations because in the event the rear of the vehicle swerves and causes oversteering, uncontrollable driving conditions may arise.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved axle arrangement which obviates prior art shortcomings and which is easy to manufacture while still being reliable in operation.